Author Archives: Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

A brick-wall called Ann Williams

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Stumbling upon a brick-wall when you’re researching your family tree is very common. It can prove a difficult mystery to solve, but these situations are after all what make genealogy fascinating – how boring it would be if it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth, Colwall, Death, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Marriage | 2 Comments

Adolf Hitler’s family tree

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

It is often stated that Adolf Hitler, the man responsible for the death of over 6 million Jews and countless other innocents in the Second World War, had Jewish blood flowing through his veins. The story, is in fact, false, … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth, Death, Famous Genealogy, Genealogy, Germany, Killed In Action | 9 Comments

Titanic victim’s niece survives Concordia disaster

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Like many of you out there, I am utterly stunned by the amazingly horrific images of the recent Costa Concordia disaster off the Island of Giglio, on the western coast of Italy. The footage showing the ship gradually listing to … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, England, Genealogy, Italy, Ships, United States | 2 Comments

John Tippins, the fate of a family passion

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Guns and bullets seem to have been central in the life of my distant relative, John Tippins, an expert rifleman who won many medals during his all too short life. Ironically, it was also a bullet – an enemy bullet … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Engagement, Genealogy, Killed In Action, War | 3 Comments

Discovering new aunties in the 19th century

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Ever since my dad bought me a subscription on Ancestry.co.uk last Christmas, I have spent many hours researching and downloading documents about my relatives in England, America and the Commonwealth. A few days ago I discovered someone had published their … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth, Colwall, Death, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Illegitimacy, Marriage, Surrey, Wales, Yorkshire | Leave a comment

Love and Courtship… at the spa of Mondariz

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

I will not pretend my background is at all affluent. Far from it in fact. If you go back long enough, you will see that my family tree is mostly populated by farmers, agricultural labourers and other individuals for whom … Continue reading →

Posted in Engagement, Galicia, Genealogy, Marriage, Spain | Leave a comment

Verifying Ellen

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

I love going over the facts on my family tree to check if they’re correct. Very often it happens to me that I feel unsure about some of my past online findings, and I start to wonder whether I may … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Shropshire | 5 Comments

The stigma of illegitimacy

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Illegitimate children abound in every family; if you haven’t found any yet, then you just haven’t searched enough. In our modern age we tend to think of the past generations as being prim and proper, ultra-respectable, morally conservative and social-conscious. … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth, Death, Galicia, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Illegitimacy, Marriage, Spain | 6 Comments

My slave-owning American cousins

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

If a couple of days ago I commented on the grief of parents over the loss of their infant children, I wonder how much worse it would be to receive a letter or a telegram containing the awful news that … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Emigration, Genealogy, Killed In Action, Louisiana, Marriage, Spain, United States, War | 1 Comment

My family’s own “Downton Abbey”

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Apparently, in 19th century England there were more people working in service than actually working down the mines. Being employed in someone else’s household as a member of staff was an alternative available to those who, for instance, wished to … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkshire, Downstairs staff, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Marriage, Shropshire, Work | 2 Comments